Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1887-01-13

| man. an ungratcful man, an unfair man, az
unphilosophic man, and most Of all, an un
| christian man, who measures his life on eartl
by groans,. and tears, and dyspcptic 1T, ant
abuse, and scorn and terror, and ncuralgl,
thrust.
| THE TRUE VALUE OF MONEY.
Again: remark that there are many PEG
| pie who estimate their life on earth BY tn,
amount of money they have accumulated
,, They say: ''The year 1866, or 1876, or 1881
was wasted. Why! Made no money" Now
1t is all cant and insincerity to talk agains'
money as though 1t had no value. IL Is refine
mcnt, and education, and ten thousand blessed
surroundings. 1t is the spreading of the Ia
Bile that feeds your childrcu's hunger. 1t |,
the making Of the bed on which you rest from
care aud anxiety. 1t Is the carrying out
last OF you TO decent sepulture. and the putting
up OF the slab on which Is chseled the story
OF your Christian hope. 1t Is simple hypocrisy
this TRADE in pulpit and lecture hall agains
money, as though 1t had no uses. 1t Is hands
and feet, and sails, and ten thousand grand ant
glorious enterprises. But while all this is So
be who uses money, or thinks OF money a,
anything but means to an end will find Out
his mistake when the glttering treasures sir
out of his nerveless grasp and he goes out Of
this world without shilling OF money or q
certificate Of stock. He might better have
been the Christian porter that opened his gate,
or the begrimed workman who last night hcay
ed the coal into his cellar. Bonds aud mort
cages, and leases have their use, but they
make poor yardstick with which TO measure
life. They that boast themselves in their
wealth and trust ON the multitude of theii
riches, none of them can, by any means, re.
deem his brother, nor give to God a ransom
for him, that he should not see corruption.
'Wise men die, likewise the fool and the
british person perish, and leave their wealth
to Others"
MEASURING LIFE by GOOD ACTS.
But remark: There are many-1wish there
h. m
moral and spiritual development. II Is not
sinful egotism for Christian man to say, "a
am purer than ! used to be. | am more conse.
Grated 10 Christ than / used to be. have got
over great many Of the bad habits in which
l used to indulge. / am great deal better
egotism in that 1t is not base egotism for
soldier to say: 81 know more about military
tactics than used to before took a musket
In my hand and learned to present arms and
when was pest to the drill officer" 1t is
not base cgotism for sailor to say, II know
how better to Glow down the mizzen topsail
than used to before I had ever seen ship"
And there is no sinful egotism when q Chris
tian man, fighting the battles Of the Lord, or
if you will have it, voyaging toward haven
OF eternal rest, says: ~ know more about
spiritual tactics and about voyaging toward
heaven than used to-" Why, there are those
in this presence who have measured lances
with many foe and endorsed it, There are
Christian men here who have become swarthy
by hammering at the forge Of calamity. They
stand on an entirely different plane Of charac-
ter from that which they once occupied. They
are measuring their life on earth by golden
gated Sabbaths, BY pentecostal prayer-meet-
ings, by communion tables, by baptismal fonts,
by halleluiahs in the temple. They have stood
on Sinai and heard 1t thunder. They have
stood in Pisgah and looked over into the prom.
ised land. They have stood on Calvary and
seen the Cross bleed. They can. like Paul the
apostle, write on their heaviest troubles
light" and but for moment" The darkest
night their soul is irradiated, as was the night
over Bethlehem, by the faces of those who
They are only waiting for the gate to open,
and the chains to fall of, and the glory to be-
gin.
WORKING WHOLLY FOR CHRIST.
| remark again: There are many land
wish there were more) who are estimating life
Bradford said he counted that day nothing at
all In which he had not, by pen or tongue,
done some good. If a man begin right, can
not tell how many tears he NAV wipe away,
how many burdens he may lift, how many
orphans he may comfort, how many outcasts
he may reclaim. There have been men who
have given their whole life in the right direc-
ton, concentrating all their wit and ingenuity,
and mental acumen, aud physical force and
enthusiasm for Christ They climbed the
the sea, and trudged the desert, and dropped
at last into martyrs graves, waiting for the
resurrection of the just They measured their
lives by the chains they broke off, by the gar
mcnts they put on nakedneSs, bv the miles
they Travelled to alleviate every kind of suffer
ing. They felt in the thrill of every nerve, in
the motion of every muscle, in every throb Of
their heart, in every respiration Of their lungs
the magnificent truth: mo man liveth for
himself" They went through cold and through
heat foot-blistered, cheek smtten, back
scouraged, tempest-lashed, to do their whole
duty. That is the way they measured life
by the amount of good they can do Do you
want to know how old Luther was, how old
Richard Baxter was, how old Philip Doddridge
was! Why, you could not calculate the length
of their lives by any human arithmetic. Add
to their lives ten thousand times ten thousand
years, and you have not expressed it-what
they have lived or will live. o. what stand
ard that is to measure mans life byl There
are those in this house who think thay have
lived only thirty years. They will have lived
IA thousand years-they have lived thousand.
There are those who think they are 50 years of
age. They have not even entered upon their
infancy for one must become babe In Christ
to begin at all.
A GREAT FIELD FOR ALL MEN.
Now, do not know what your advantages
or disadvantages are | do not know what
your tact or talent is; do not know what
may be the fascln alton of your manners or the
of them, but know this,
There Is for you, my hearer, field to culture,
a harvest to reap, tear to wipe away, a soul
to save. II you have wOrldlI means conse-
crate them to Christ. If you have eloqucnce,
use it on the side that Paul and Wilberforce
used theirs III you have learning, put 1t all
into the poor-box of the worlds suffering. But
ii you have none of these-neither wealth, nor
eloquence nor learning-you at any rate have
a smile with which you can encourage the
disheartened, frown with which you may
blast injustice, voice with which you may
call the wanderer back to God 60" you say,
that is very sanctimonious view Of life.n
1t is not. 1t Is the only bright view of life,
and it is the only bright view of death. Con-
trast the death scene of a man who has meas
ured life by the worldly standard with the
death scene Of a man who has measured life
by the Christian standard. Quinn, the actor,
in his last moments said! 81 hope this tragic
scene will soon be over, and | hope to keep
my dignity to the last" Malncrbe said In his las.
moments to the confessori Hold your tonguet
Your miserable style puts ME out Of eonceit
with heaven" Lord Chesterfield, In PRAYING
for his soul, bothered himself about Give
last hours on earth in drawing diagram OF
his own monument.
THE TRUE CHRISTIAN DEATH ~Tv
Compare the silly and horrible departure OF
such men with the seraphic gov on the face
of Edward Payson, as he said in his last mo-
float in sea OF glory" Or, with Paul the
apostle, who said in his last hour: 81 am
now ready to be offered up, and the time of
my departure is at hand. | have fought the
good fight. have kept the faith. Henceforth,
there is laid up for Inc a crown of righteous
ness which the Lord, the Righteous Judge,
will give mel Or compare 1t with the Christ
ian death bed that you witnessed in your own
household q, my friends, this world is
false godl 1t will consume you with the
blaze in which II accepts your sacrifice, while
the righteous shall be held in everlasting
and when the thrones have
fallen, and the monuments have crumbled,
and the world has persisted, they shall banquet
with the conquerers Of earth anu the hierarchs
of heaven.
This is good day In which to begin new
style Of measurement. How old art thou! You
see the Christian way Of measuring life and
the worldly way Of measuring 1t. leave 1t to
you, to say which is the wisest and best way.
The wheel OF time has turned very swiftly,
and it has hurled us on. The old year has
gone. The new year has come. For what you
and have been launched upon it, God only
knows.
Now let me ask you all: Have you made any
preparation for the futures You have made
preparation for time, my dear brother; have
you made any preparation for eternity! Do
you wonder that when that man on the Hud-
sou river in Indignation tore UP the tract which
was handed to him and Just one word landed
al NalA g IT.